As the Jewish High Holiday season moves in, Israel is getting set to welcome a throng of religious visitors — evangelical Christians.
Thousands will pour in from more than 80 countries to the streets of Jerusalem in early October for an annual march celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Jewish festival of Sukkot. As they follow in the footsteps of Jesus, whose holiday visit to the city is described in the Book of John, they’ll also be rallying behind the modern state of Israel.
Evangelicals from the U.S. alone pump more than half a billion dollars a year into Israeli tourism and charity, while endorsing the country’s conservative politics in a controversial alliance. Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Jewish state has energized fundraising efforts as evangelicals try to ramp up support for a land many see as God-given.
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